Berry Cake

I had some extra strawberries and blueberries to use up and this berry cake turned out wonderful!  I adapted this berry cake recipe from Martha Stewart's Strawberry Cake (original recipe here).  The cake is light and moist.  One of the online Martha Stewart reviewers said it tastes like a cross between an angel food cake and a buttery pound cake, which is exactly right!  I couldn't have described it any better.   I will definitely be making this cake again and again.  You could serve this berry cake as is or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Berry Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ pound strawberries, hulled and halved

½ pound blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.   Grease a 10 inch pie plate with butter.

In a bowl, whisk together (or sift) flour, baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer, on medium-high speed, beat together butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy.  On medium-low speed, mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

On low speed, slowly add in flour mixture about ½ cup at a time.  You may need to use a spatula to scrape sides of bowl down.  

Pour batter into buttered pie plate.  Arrange strawberries and blueberries on top.  Place strawberries cut side down.  Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.  

Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.  Bake for additional 60 minutes until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch.  

Allow cake to cool in pie plate.  Store cake at room temperature loosely covered for up to 2 days or refrigerate.

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

I could not stop licking the spoon after making this homemade chocolate sauce.  This is also my first time making homemade chocolate sauce and it was so easy.  I drizzled some of the chocolate sauce over a chocolate bundt cake I made (recipe here).  You could use this sauce on top of ice cream or fruit, or any other desserts that need some extra chocolate.  I stored the extra sauce in a mason jar and will keep it in the fridge.  Also, I can easily reheat it in the microwave when I need it again.  Enjoy! 

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

Printable Recipe

Ingredients for Chocolate Sauce

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk, fat-free

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Chocolate Sauce

In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, stir together condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract.  Do not boil over, but until the chocolate sauce is a smooth consistency.

Allow chocolate sauce to cool slightly. 

Store chocolate sauce in a glass jar and refrigerate.  You can microwave it when needed.

Blueberry Banana Cake

This blueberry banana cake is perfect for breakfast or dessert.  I was able to make 2 cakes with this recipe in loaf pans.  You could just halve the recipe to make 1 cake if you prefer.   I loved how this cake turned out and it was light, moist and sweet.   I also wanted to freeze the second cake for a friend who is expecting a baby this month.  (I let the cake cool, then wrapped it in plastic wrap and then in foil, and placed it in the freezer.) 

 

Blueberry Banana Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups fresh blueberries

2 bananas, mashed

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two 9x4 loaf pans with parchment paper.

 

In a stand mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

 

Add in bananas, eggs, and vanilla to butter-sugar mixture.

 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

 

Gradually add flour mixture into batter.  Mix until combined.

 

Stir in blueberries.

Pour batter into loaf pans.  

 

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until cake is lightly brown.  Poke cake with a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.  If not, bake an additional 5 minutes.

 

Makes 2 cakes.

Grape Salad

I discovered this grape salad not too long ago when I had too many grapes (thanks mom) and was wondering how to eat it all.  It is surprisingly creamy and delicious.  I know its called a saladbut its almost like dessert since it is sweet.  There are different variations to this salad that you can find online.  I wanted to make it more healthy so I used neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese.  Neufchatel cheese has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese and is similar in looks and taste.  Also, I used a light sour cream, since it has about half the fat of regular sour cream and 1/3 fewer calories.  I suppose this balances out the sugar that I used, but its really not too much.  Do not omit the the brown sugar and pecan topping though!  It really makes this dish stand out and gives a nice crunch.  Hopefully you get to make this soon, because I couldn't wait to make this again when I first tried the recipe!

Ingredients

1 pound seedless grapes (I used red, you can use green, or use both.)

4 ounces neufchatel cheese (You can use cream cheese instead.)

½ cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped pecans (I used glazed/candied pecans.)

 

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the Neufchatel cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer.

 

Add grapes and stir to coat grapes with mixture. 

Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Ellie likes to be in the kitchen with me :)

Whipped Cream Topping

Who doesn't love freshly whipped cream?  It dresses up most desserts and is such a versatile topping for so many foods and drinks.  I love it on top of pies, fruit, ice cream, hot cocoa, and coffee drinks!  I just made whipped cream topping for a key lime pie, doesn't it look delicious?  I wish I could eat a slice right now but I am taking it to a dinner party tonight and it probably wouldn't be a good idea if there was a slice missing...right?

 

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream (keep cold)

¼ cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  Slowly add in sugar and vanilla.  This could take about 10 minutes.  Be sure not to overbeat, or it will start getting lumpy like butter and not creamy.  

You can also make the whipped cream by hand with a wire whisk; it’ll just take some arm strength and may take you a little longer!

To make the whipped cream topping on the pie decorative, I used Wilton’s disposable decorating bag with a star tip.  Wilton’s website tells you how to do the star technique here - http://www.wilton.com/technique/Star.

(Hint:  I put my large glass mixing bowl and beater attachments (or whisk) in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to keep the whipping cream extra cold.)